DuHamel Wins Record Tying 5th Daytona 200!

[totalmotorcycle]

DuHamel Wins Record Tying 5th Daytona 200!

Press Release Issued By American Honda (March 14, 2005)


2005 AMA Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme Championship Daytona 200 by Honda Round 1: Daytona, FL March 12, 2005

The name's DuHamel. Miguel DuHamel. Winningest roadracer in AMA history, and now a five-time champ of American motorcycle racing's most prestigious event: the Daytona 200 by Honda.

That's right, there's a new Mr. Daytona in town, and with his fifth victory today he ties Scott Russell on the all-time Daytona 200 win list and now rightfully owns a share of that history-making moniker as well.

In fact, the 200, run this year for the first time on Formula Xtreme-spec 600cc bikes, turned out to be an all-Honda affair from start to finish, with DuHamel leading a Red Rider podium sweep that included Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts in second and Team Honda's Jake Zemke in third with all three riders finishing at least a lap ahead of the rest of the field. And while Roberts, returned to the AMA series after a year of racing for his father, Kenny Roberts, on the MotoGP circuit, rode the wheels off his Erion CBR600RR and repeatedly swapped the lead with DuHamel well past the 25-lap mark, the majority of the afternoon clearly belonged to DuHamel.

So dominant was Miguel today that he made this grueling event look, well, easy, consistently reeling off laps in the 1:42 range and leading for 51 of the 68 laps to cross the stripe nearly 43 seconds ahead of Roberts' #80 machine. Even Kurtis's two-pit-stop strategy (compared to DuHamel's three) couldn't put a dent in the French Canadian's lead. It also didn't help that Roberts' second pit went awry, adding to what ultimately became an insurmountable deficit.

"I was really pushing it hard," said DuHamel from the winner's circle. "Up until that first pit stop [on lap 21] I thought we would all regroup and be together for the whole 68 laps. I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could."

As for Zemke, last year's Formula Xtreme Series runner-up and a pre-race favorite today, this was just not his Daytona 200 to win, even though he ran up front and battled both Roberts and DuHamel tooth-and-nail in the opening 15 or so laps.

"It was a long race," said #98 from the podium. "From the very get-go I knew we were in trouble. Getting behind Miguel and Kurtis, we just picked the wrong gearing. We didn't have enough gearing to pull the wind. And then in the infield, those guys with the shorter gearing were able to pull me off the corners."

DuHamel, meantime, let everybody know he'd enjoy both his new Rolex (for winning the 200 pole) and new nickname before putting his head down defending his 2004 FX title and getting back into the mix in the AMA Superbike Championship.

"It feels great winning five," said the newly crowned Mr. Daytona - or would that be Monsieur Daytona? - as he gave due credit to his standout CBR600RR FX machine. "This year it felt like the Daytona 255. It seemed like it would never end. It's amazing to have a bike that's as early in its development as the 600 Xtreme is and do 200 miles on that bike at 180 mph. It's quite a testament to how Honda builds motorcycles - for power and the long run."

Daytona 200 by Honda Results
1. Miguel DuHamel - Honda
2. Kurtis Roberts - Honda
3. Jake Zemke - Honda
4. Danny Eslick - Suzuki
5. Chris Peris - Yamaha
6. Jason Perez - Yamaha
7. Ty Howard - Yamaha
8. Michael Barnes - Yamaha
9. Taylor Knapp - Yamaha
10. Simon Turner - Yamaha
AMA/Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Points Standings 1. Miguel DuHamel - Honda 2. Kurtis Roberts - Honda 3. Jake Zemke - Honda 4. Danny Eslick - Suzuki 5. Chris Peris - Yamaha 6. Jason Perez - Yamaha 7. Ty Howard - Yamaha 8. Michael Barnes - Yamaha 9. Taylor Knapp - Yamaha 10. Simon Turner - Yamaha

2005 AMA Superbike Championship
Round 1: Daytona, FL
March 12, 2005
The 2005 Daytona round of the AMA Superbike Championship was a sprint race consisting of 15 laps, a mere (at least by AMA Superbike standards) 44.25 miles, and pin-it-to-the-stops liter-bike barnstorming.

And when the checkered flag finally flew, Team Honda's Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel crossed the stripe a solid fifth and sixth, respectively, with Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts, back riding red after a year in the MotoGP ranks, logged a ninth. While deep in the chase, Zemke and DuHamel encountered lapped traffic, had to stand up their bikes to avoid contact, and went briefly off course.

Defending AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin took the win, with 2003 World Superbike champ and AMA Superbike newcomer Neil Hodgson second, and Ben Spies filling out the podium in third.

Stay tuned as Miguel, Jake and Kurtis step up the pace aboard their factory and Erion Honda CBR1000RRs as the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship picks up again on April 22-24 in Birmingham, Alabama.

AMA Superbike Championship, Rd. 1 Results 1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki 2. Neil Hodgson - Ducati 3. Ben Spies - Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates - Suzuki 5. Jake Zemke - Honda 6. Miguel Duhamel - Honda 7. Jason Pridmore - Suzuki 8. Geoff May - Suzuki 9. Kurtis Roberts - Honda 10. Steve Rapp - Suzuki

AMA Superbike Championship Points Standings 1. Mat Mladin - 38 - Suzuki 2. Neil Hodgson - 32 - Ducati 3. Ben Spies - 29 - Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates - 27 - Suzuki 5. Jake Zemke - 26 - Honda 6. Miguel Duhamel - 25 - Honda 7. Jason Pridmore - 24 - Suzuki 8. Geoff May - 23 - Suzuki 9. Kurtis Roberts - 22 - Honda 10. Steve Rapp - 21 - Suzuki

2005 THQ AMA Supercross Series
Round 10: Daytona, FL
March 11, 2005
With its infield lights ablaze for just the second time in its 30-plus-year Supercross history, Daytona International Speedway played host tonight to round 10 of the 2005 THQ AMA Supercross Series. One of the premier events on the SX calendar, the Daytona Supercross by Honda got underway before thousands of fans on hand for Bike Week 2005 - and the Red Riders did not disappoint.

Amsoil/Chaparral/Napster Honda's Mike LaRocco laid claim to top Honda honors on the night, capturing his fourth podium finish of the season with a solid third-place performance aboard his CR250R. Behind him came teammate Kevin Windham two spots back in fifth leading Team Honda factory riders Travis Preston in sixth, Ernesto Fonseca in seventh, and Andrew Short in eighth.

Chad Reed took the 250-class win, with Ricky Carmichael finishing second.

The action over in the 125 East main event saw the Red Riders score even more impressive - not to mention wilder - results. Amsoil/Chaparral/Napster Honda's Josh Grant snagged the holeshot and led for most of the 15-lap contest before getting caught by Josh Hansen on the last lap when the two riders collided. Hansen managed to remount first and put enough space between himself and Grant to win the dash to the checkers. Meantime, Grant, in what was easily his finest performance in this his rookie SX season, would hang on for second while Samsung Honda's Troy Adams would fill out the podium in third.

Honda riders Steve Boniface, Donnie McGourty, Joaquim Rodrigues and Justine Buckelew would finish 7-8-9-10 to round out the top 10 in perfect Red Rider fashion.

Next week the THQ AMA 250 and 125 East Supercross Series moves just a few miles inland to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, in that city's inaugural hosting of a THQ AMA Supercross Series event.

THQ AMA 250 Supercross Results
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha
2. Ricky Carmichael - Suzuki
3. Mike LaRocco - Honda
4. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
5. Kevin Windham - Honda
6. Travis Preston - Honda
7. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
8. Andrew Short - Honda
9. Tim Ferry - Yamaha
10. Sean Hamblin - Kawasaki

THQ AMA 250 Supercross Points Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael - 239 - Suzuki
2. Chad Reed - 207 - Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham - 172 - Honda
4. Mike LaRocco - 169 - Honda
5. David Vuillemin - 150 - Yamaha
6. Ernesto Fonseca- 137 - Honda
7. Sebastien Tortelli - 129 - Suzuki
8. Michael Byrne - 103 - Kawasaki
9. Heath Voss - 95 - Yamaha
10. Tyler Evans - 81 - Suzuki

THQ AMA 125 East Supercross Results
1. Josh Hansen - KTM
2. Josh Grant - Honda
3. Troy Adams - Honda
4. Chad Johnson - Yamaha
5. Kelly Smith - Yamaha
6. Ryan Mills - KTM
7. Steve Boniface - Honda
8. Donnie McGourty - Honda
9. Joaquim Rodrigues - Honda
10. Justin Buckelew - Honda
THQ AMA 125 East Supercross Points Standings 1. Josh Hansen - 80 - KTM 2. Grant Langston - 78 - Kawasaki 3. David Millsaps - 68 - Suzuki 4. Kelly Smith - 53 - Yamaha 5. Troy Adams - 51 - Honda 6. Josh Grant - 50 - Honda 7. Steve Boniface - 49 - Honda 8. Joaquim Rodrigues - 45 - Honda 9. Brock Sellards - 40 - Yamaha 10. Matt Walker - 38 - Kawasaki

[High_Side]

As a Miguel fan I am sorry to say he will never have the opportunity to beet Scott Russels record straight up. There is no competition in Formula Extreme for Honda and this win really shouldn't be used to compare to what Russel has done. If the Superbike was still the 200, it was pretty obvious that Mladin would have won the big prize...